France Creates Commission to Study Overcrowding of the Commission Studying Overcrowding
After warning students not to escalate protests over packed classrooms, the prime minister unveils a body designed to monitor its own capacity in real time.
Following the arrests of 164 protesters demonstrating against overcrowded classrooms, the prime minister announced the formation of the National Commission on Classroom Density, a body that will meet weekly in a room built to hold twelve people and staffed by forty.
"We take overcrowding extremely seriously, which is why we have assembled every available official to discuss it in the smallest available room," said a commission spokesperson, wedged between two filing cabinets and an intern.
The commission's first agenda item was a motion to convene a subcommittee to assess whether the commission itself has become overcrowded, a question officials say cannot be answered until a room is found large enough to hold the assessment.
Students outside the building continued to protest, though organizers noted it was difficult to tell where the demonstration ended and the commission's overflow seating began.
The prime minister reiterated his call for calm, urging both students and commission members alike to remain seated, insofar as seating remains available.